


Swimming Fool

by rimplay (winren)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, JiHan, M/M, Rating May Change, Soonhoon - Freeform, Underage Drinking, a LOT of ships, swimming fic, they swim a lot, this is a meanie fic but theres a lot of minghao, verkwan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-02-14 18:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13013517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winren/pseuds/rimplay
Summary: Wonwoo believes that you should never let a rat ruin your day. Even if that rat is named Kim Mingyu and he thinks he's better than you at swimming.





	1. Condemned

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh i suck at summaries lmao. also this is a meanie fic, but this chapter is basically just minghao's angst.  
> thanks to my beta @somethingseokmin u r the real mvp

Seungkwan walked into the locker room and peeked underneath the stalls. It was empty, so he could finally change in peace. The one thing he hated about practice was having to dress out every time. He even considered wearing his bathing suit under his jeans like Soonyoung does, but sometimes Soonyoung wore shorts and his swimsuit would awkwardly peek through the bottom. (No one ever really brought it up)

Seungwan ran into the stall when he heard the locker room door open. Two people walk in, one headed to the sinks and the other toward the lockers. 

“So, how’s it going with, Mr. Better-than-Everyone?” the guy at the lockers asked. His voice was deep enough for Seungkwan to know that it was junior, Jeon Wonwoo, specialty butterfly, one of The Big Four. At least, that’s what Chan called them. The relay racers. 

Jeon Wonwoo, butterfly, a junior who hardly ever talked during practice. 

Kim Mingyu, (who goes by the nickname The Man because of the records he’s been breaking), backstroke, a sophomore, . 

Lee Jihoon, breaststroke, also a sophomore. (Just like Wonwoo, he hardly talks.) 

Last, but never least, Wen Junhui, free, another junior. He was infamous for having a speedo with his last name on the back. 

“He stopped messaging me,” the person at the sink responded. Xu Minghao. Wonwoo groaned and made his way over to the sinks. 

“He always does that. The stupid push and pull thing you have going on with him isn’t good for you,” Wonwoo shook his head. “I’ll beat him up if you want me too.” 

Minghao chuckled at this and rolled his eyes. “Would beating him up really be for me, or for you?” 

“I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to hit him. It’s what he deserves.” The two walked out after a hug. 

Seungkwan slowly walked out of the stall, changed quickly, and tried to forget what he heard. He knew exactly who they were talking about.

Kim Mingyu. Aka, the only person Wonwoo would voluntarily punch.

Seungkwan finally walked out of the dressing rooms and accidentally crashed right into someone.

“What are you doing? You should already be swimming,” Seungcheol, the swim team manager, asked, looking back at where everyone was already practising. Except for Jeonghan and Seokmin who were playing around slashing water at people with water from the water bottles. “Hey! Stop wasting the good drinking water! I spent so long filling those up!” Seungcheol called out angrily. Seokmin cowered off, diving into the pool as Seungcheol ran off towards him, and Seungkwan used this time to make his way over to his lane where Soonyoung and Chan were already doing their warm ups. 

When Soonyoung saw him, he stopped halfway and swam over to the wall. “What took you so long?” He asked, pushing up his goggles. 

“I was changing, but Wonwoo and Minghao came in. They were talking about you-know-who, so I hid,” Seungkwan explained. Soonyoung nodded and went back underwater. Seungkwan followed soon after. 

He didn’t like eavesdropping or hearing about the drama around him. 

When he finished his warm up, he pushed up his goggles and moved towards Seokmin and Soonyoung. Chan was off to the side talking to Mingyu, laughing at something dumb he’d done during class. 

Meanwhile, Soonyoung was trying to do butterfly easy and Seokmin was trying to get him to stop because he was going to get hurt. 

Seungkwan looked over at the diving board and saw Minghao about to dive. He didn’t know exactly what was going on between Mingyu and Minghao, but he knew it had started sometime last year. 

Vernon, the other manager, walked up Seungkwan’s lane and crouched down in front of him. “You need any water?” Seungkwan shook his head, raising the water bottle in his hand. 

Vernon nodded and hesitated, as if he was going to say something else, but , Seokmin swam past and did his flip turn just as he was going to say it, throwing water all over Vernon. He groaned and stood up, complaining about his new shoes getting wet. 

Seungkwan rolled his eyes and put the water bottle away to start his new set. 

 

Over by the diving boards, Minghao was trying to tell Wonwoo that he was fine and he should go start on his own sets. Wonwoo left reluctantly when he saw Seungcheol glaring at them. 

Joshua was trying to see how many somersaults he could do in one dive and Jeonghan was off to the side, counting each one. For being the top two divers on the team, they played around in practice a lot. 

When Joshua came out of the water and walked to the table near Minghao to grab a water, he noticed him standing there. He made his way over to ask the other why he wasn’t in the water yet when he noticed that Minghao’s eyes were puffy and red. He rolled his eyes. “Is this because of that jerk you’ve been telling us about? If Jeonghan and I ever find out who it is, we’ll beat him up for you.” Minghao laughed at how ironic it was, knowing that Joshua, Jeonghan, and Mingyu (the “jerk”) hung out together after practice. “I’m serious, Minghao. We told you to stop talking to him. He’s just going to keep leading you on.” 

“I know. You don’t think that I’m trying? He just sends me those cute ‘missing you texts’ and I’m putty in his hands. Then he gets with some other person and stops texting me. I can’t help it,” Minghao explained. 

Joshua scowled but shrugged it off. 

 

After practice, the A medley relay team and the divers went to the pizza place they always visited on Thursdays. Wonwoo was having a hard time trying not to jam his fork in Mingyu’s eye as he talked about this week's meet. Minghao’s steady hand on his thigh reminded him that violence was never the answer and that it wasn’t his business to butt into. 

Joshua and Jeonghan were talking to Jihoon and Jun about how their coach was overworking them, and Mingyu had to respond with something stupid that made Wonwoo finally stop glaring at him and open his mouth to spit something rude back. Minghao rolled his eyes at the start of their stupid arguments. 

Jihoon and Jun were sat back, hiding their smirks, while Joshua and Jeonghan were trying to stop whatever was about to start. 

Jeonghan claimed he didn’t have it in him to break up another fight and Joshua reminded them that if they got into another physical fight they’d get banned from ever coming here again. 

Wonwoo stood up and made his way out of the diner. Jun and Jihoon followed, leaving Minghao conflicted. He kept glancing between the door and where Mingyu sat, clenching the table in anger. When Mingyu said something under his breath, Minghao laughed. When Mingyu looked up at him and smiled, Minghao smiled back. When Joshua and Jeonghan asked him if he wanted a ride home, Mingyu jumped in and assured that he could take him instead. When Mingyu decided not to drop Minghao off at home and drove them instead to his place, Minghao couldn’t stop smiling. When Mingyu took him upstairs and made a joke about all the tension during practice, Minghao laughed. And when Mingyu asked him why he was crying as he’s kissing along the other's jaw, Minghao just responded that he was happy. 

 

The next day at practice, when Wonwoo saw Mingyu and Minghao talking, he stalked over to them and pushed Mingyu up against the wall, shouting profanities at him. Seungcheol was running over, ready to pull Wonwoo off of the taller, but Mingyu was already fighting back and trying to throw a punch. 

Minghao was standing off to side, promising himself that he wouldn’t let this happen again while Vernon was pushing Wonwoo away and Seungcheol restrained Mingyu with both arms behind his back. 

 

Seungkwan stood off to the side, tempted to tell everyone why they were fighting, but decided instead to stay out of it. Seokmin and Soonyoung were whispering and asking if they were fighting about the relay. It wasn't any of his business, he kept thinking. It wasn't his place to say. He wasn't even included in it from the beginning. He was just in the right place at the wrong time.

Luckily the coach wasn't out of his office yet. If he saw his top swimmers fighting each other, there would be consequences, not only for them, but for the whole team. He'd probably go off on a tangent about how they're a team and they should act like one. Or he'd report them and they'd get disqualified from participating, but the coach would never do that. He'd never let his top swimmers get in trouble.

Seungcheol forced them to run laps to cool down (both metaphorically and actually). It was nearly freezing outside and Mingyu was already protesting on having to run in such weather. Vernon added that maybe it would make him think twice about starting a fight. Mingyu began to argue that it was Wonwoo who started it before being interrupted by the managers who claimed that they were both in the wrong and that's why they were both being punished.

Wonwoo threw Mingyu a scowl before heading to the doors to start his run. Mingyu flipped him off and made his way to the other entrance, so that when they ran, they wouldn’t run into each other. Seungcheol sent Vernon to go watch and make sure they actually followed his commands.

Seungcheol turned around and told the swimmers that were standing around watching the scene unfold to get dressed and that practice would continue per usual, and they shouldn't get distracted so easily.

 

After practice, Jun pulled Minghao aside. They never really talked to each other, but they were both close to Wonwoo and were obviously on the same team.

"You know why they fought right?" Jun asked, leaning against the wall and blowing warm air into his hands. His jacket was zipped all the way and his hood was up, the string pulled tight to close around the hood. Minghao nodded, not wanting to reveal too much. He didn't know if Jun knew about him and Mingyu, and he didn't want to accidentally reveal it himself.

"Wonwoo told me that Mingyu’s leading someone on that he's really close to, but I call bullshit. Wonwoo isn't close to anyone except you and I. There's no way you would fall into Mingyu's stupid trap. You're too smart. I think he hit him today just for the hell of it," Jun admitted. Minghao blushed and hoped that he could play it off as it being too cold outside.

"Here, let’s go get something to eat. I'll pay," Jun offered. Minghao readily agreed because he would be dumb to pass up free food. 

 

They ate at some restaurant that Minghao had never been to and talked about school, and diving, and how Jun had wanted to try it but the first day of his freshman year practice he’d fallen flat on his face and he vowed he'd never try it again. Minghao laughed and said the same thing had happened to him, but he didn't give up. He took it as a chance to improve.

"You see, this is how I know that you're not the one being lead on by Mingyu. You're too headstrong to believe all the crap he says. Want to hear a secret?" Jun asked, pointing a chopstick at him. Minghao nodded. Jun wasn't as bad as he seemed, and the fact that he could so easily talk to him about stuff made him happy.

"He tried the same thing with me. He tried flirting with me over text and of course I played along. He's gorgeous, I can't deny that, but I can spot a player from their first message. He tried to play twenty questions with me, how cliche is that?" Jun laughed. Minghao looked down at his phone. It was something that they’d played together also. That's how Minghao found out that Mingyu had a dog named Pops. He had thought it was cute and he didn't know it was a game everyone played.

"I think he also tried to flirt with Wonwoo once. You know Wonwoo though. He claims he has no time for relationships. He's kind of right. The boy can't hold a relationship to save his life. He's too dedicated to swimming. I think that's where Mingyu and Wonwoo clash," Jun hummed. He nodded as if it made all the sense to him. Minghao was lost. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Mingyu actually tried to flirt with Wonwoo. He always thought they started hating each other immediately. Mortal enemies or whatever. "He probably hates how much effort he puts into his swimming and how Mingyu just shows up to practice and breaks a record.Wouldn't that piss you off?" Jun asked, tilting his head and staring at the other.

"I mean, yeah, of course it would. Makes you think he doesn't deserve it," he answered. Jun smiled. He bit his chopstick in thought, pointed it at Minghao again and said something under his breath. Minghao asked him to repeat it and Jun just laughed, shaking his head.

"I just said that Mingyu doesn't deserve you. If you were mine, I'd treat you right." Minghao stared at him in shock, confused by everything, unsure of what to comprehend first. The fact that Jun lied and claimed he thought that Minghao wasn't the one who was being lead on, or the fact that Jun just outwardly flirted with him. He didn't even know Jun! How could he just flirt with him so openly?

"I- I thought you said you didn't think it was me being lead on by Mingyu?" Minghao questioned.

"Yeah, I did, but the way you talk about Mingyu made me question what I originally thought. Your hesitance just confirmed my suspicions. So what did Mingyu do to you that made Wonwoo finally punch him?" Jun asked.

"I had told him that Mingyu stopped texting me yesterday and he probably saw how I was clinging to him today and thought something bad," Minghao said.

"Did you sleep with him last night?" Jun asked. Minghao blushed at his bluntness. He nodded and Jun sighed.

"He's not good enough for you. What did he do to make you fall in love with him so I can do it better?," Jun responded.

"Can you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Jun asked, tilting his head and making himself look more innocent than he actually was.

"Flirting with me so unashamedly. Don't you have any class?" Minghao scoffed.

"I thought this was what you liked? Mingyu probably sent you a dick pic and you probably thought it was romantic. At least I actually took you out on a date," Jun fired back. 

Minghao clenched his fist around his glass."It's not like that. You don't know what you're talking about. Mingyu's done sweet things for me. It's not all just sex," Minghao defended.

"Oh yeah?" Jun smirked and bit his lip,nodding again. "If he's so great, then tell me about your first date."

"I don't have to tell you anything.” Minghao rolled his eyes. “It's none of your business."

"You just don't have anything. Admit it. He's a horrible person and you're too good for him. Hao, listen to me. I know the games he's playing. He's probably talking to four other people right now." he reached over the table to place his hand over Minghao's. 

Minghao removed it quickly as if he’d been burned.

"Don't call me that. You don't even know me. You don't know anything. I can't even believe I agreed to hang out with you. I can't believe I thought for even a second that you were a good person. I don't know why Wonwoo hangs out with someone like you if all you know how to do is criticize other people." Minghao said, standing up and grabbing his jacket from behind his seat. "Kindly fuck off and mind your own business."

He stormed off, ignoring how Jun was calling after him. He took note that the other didn't make a move to get up and run after him.

He didn't even have a ride. He pulled out his phone to text someone to pick him up. He couldn't text Wonwoo because he'd ask too many questions. He saw a missed text from Mingyu and cleared it from his notifs. He scrolled through his messages and saw his texts with Jeonghan, deciding that he'd be the best option to call. He pressed the call button and when the other answered after just one ring, Minghao asked him if he could pick him up.

A few minutes later and Jeonghan was pulling up in his mom's car. When Minghao got in, Jeonghan asked why he was crying and when Minghao wiped his cheeks he found that he was indeed crying. Jeonghan asked him if it was because of that guy. Minghao didn't respond. He didn't want to explain to Jeonghan that it wasn't and then have to explain the day's events.

Jeonghan put his car in drive, but the restaurant's doors opened catching the other's attention before he could drive off. When he spotted Jun and glanced over at Minghao, he put his car back into park. He opened the door, leaving the keys in the ignition and stalked over to Jun shouting at him.

"Are you the fucking loser that’s been making Minghao cry? I never would've fucking thought it'd be someone on our team. I actually thought you were nice. God, you fucking dick," Jeonghan shouted. Jun didn't try to claim innocence. He didn't even try to dodge the punch that Jeonghan threw at him. Minghao stared off in disbelief. How had he managed two fights in the same day?

Except, unlike the one from before, Minghao decided to take action. He ran out of the car and over to Jeonghan, pulling his fist and screaming for him to stop, that he had the wrong guy.

Jeonghan stepped away from him in shock. "Jun, what the fuck!" Why didn't you try to defend yourself? Why did you let me punch you!" He shoved him again for good measure.

"I was confused! Imagine your best friend running at you screaming and then punching you for no reason?" Jun exclaimed. 

Jeonghan laughed and Minghao stood there, confused and unsure of what to do. He felt like he was being punk'd.

"Go home and put an ice pack on your eye. I’ll take Minghao home," Jeonghan said.

 

Minghao lay in bed that night promising himself that he wouldn’t let anything like this happen again. He unlocked his phone, deleted Mingyu’s number and their messages off his phone. 

He sent Wonwoo a quick smiley emoji, to which the elder responded with a simple “gn”. Minghao smiled knowing that that was all he was going to get from him.


	2. Scenic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been 5 months lakdjflskj i had this chapter finished in like February but .... things happened lmao 
> 
>  
> 
> again thanks to my [beta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingseokmin/pseuds/somethingseokmin) .... i love u binccchhhhhh

Wonwoo opened his door to see Junhui and Soonyoung.

 

"What are you doing here? It's like six thirty," Wonwoo groaned, closing the door slightly, so the two couldn't see inside.

 

"You  _ literally  _ said the party starts at six thirty, we're here on time," Soonyoung responded, lifting his case of beers up in the air. Wonwoo scrunched up his nose and nodded. "Cheol is here, so don't be alarmed by the clothes on the floor."

 

"That is disgusting and I hate you," Jun muttered, pushing his way past the door. He ignored the fact that Wonwoo only had one sock on and that his boxers were backwards.

 

"Cheol, the guests are here!" Soonyoung shouted. Seungcheol walked out of Wonwoo's room with a towel around his neck and only in his jeans.

 

"Why are you guys so early?" He asked, leaning against the door frame. Wonwoo chuckled from across the room from where he stood already cracking a beer open. He took a sip and stuck out his tongue after in disgust. He'd never get used to the taste.

 

"We're not early. We're  _ literally  _ right on time," Jun grumbled.

 

"Yeah it seems early. The sun hasn't even gone down yet," Cheol said. He disappeared into Wonwoo's room and came out with a clean shirt on.

 

The doorbell rang and Jun sprung up to answer. He sent the others a look at how they weren't early and it's normal to show up at the given time. 

 

Jun opened the door to see Mingyu, Vernon and Seokmin. Mingyu shoved his way past the door and immediately made a comment about  the clothes littered across the floor. Seungcheol threw a throw pillow at his hand and made some crude joke about vodka and donkeys. Mingyu growled and playfully tackled the other into the couch. 

 

“Did you invite the kids?” Jun asked, leaning back in his seat and taking a wine bottle from Seokmin. He used his teeth to skillfully remove the cork, despite Vernon and Soonyoung begging him not to. 

 

“Yeah, Vernon’s here,” Wonwoo said, pointing at the other manager. 

 

“Vernon’s not a kid. He’s too mature. And if you say it again he’ll probably give you warm water,” Soonyoung defended, pulling the younger closer and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He ruffled the guy’s hair, ignoring his protests. 

 

“Oh, you’re right! So like you and Seokmin?” Jun responded. His lips were already stained red from the wine and the rest of the guests weren’t even there yet. 

 

“I’m gonna beat you up, Wen,” Soonyoung grumbled. He stood up asking where the food was when the doorbell rang again. He opened the door and was immediately attacked by Seungkwan. Chan, Jeonghan, and Joshua were standing behind them. When Soonyoung managed to get Seungkwan off of him, he turned to the group in the living room and announced that the kids had arrived. 

 

“Excuse you?” Jeonghan asked. 

 

“I meant -“

 

“I think you mean your amazing seniors are here and we’re ready to fuck shit up!” Jeonghan shouted as he pushed his way into the house and walked into the living room. He ignored his boyfriend who was trailing after him and telling him to watch his profanity. 

 

“Finally some fun people,” Jun joked. Jeonghan was about to ask why he was holding a half empty wine bottle, but Joshua placed a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder and he quickly shut up. 

 

“Someone go get the twister, please,” Seungkwan shouted as he made his way into the living room. He took a seat on the couch next to Jun and Vernon stood up from where he sat,  making his way over to take a seat beside Seungkwan. When the other noticed him, he sighed. "I thought you were going to go get the game," Seungkwan pouted. Vernon stood up right away and walked over to where Wonwoo was to ask him where the game was.

 

"You don't really want to play that do you?" Seungcheol asked, butting into the conversation. Vernon shrugged and Wonwoo ah-ed. He pointed out where to find the game and ignored the confused look Seungcheol sent him.

 

"We're missing people," Mingyu stated. He looked around the room and mentally counted, but had to start over because he kept losing count.

 

"Jihoon!" Soonyoung cried out,  leaning over Seokmin to get to his phone. “Has anyone texted Jihoon?”

 

“He texted me this morning about not really wanting to come. Something about having two essays to do,” Wonwoo shrugged. Soonyoung rolled his eyes and proceeded to call the other. He would not take no for an answer and Jihoon would be at this party or else. 

 

While Soonyoung was on the phone with a reluctant Jihoon, Vernon had found the game and brought it out. The boys all groaned, but Seungkwan was already pointing Chan as the color spinner. Wonwoo reluctantly, but thankfully, put his beer down and joined the circle. Just then, Soonyoung shouted that Jihoon was on his way and no one questioned how the younger managed to get that to happen because well… it was Soonyoung. 

  
  


Halfway into the game and the doorbell rang, causing Seungkwan to fall and groan about he technically didn’t lose and there was no way that he could ‘lose’ against Joshua when the other doesn’t even have good arm/body coordination. 

 

Soonyoung bolted off the couch, knocking a couple of empty beer cans over and opened the door to find Jihoon and Minghao. 

 

“Minghao told me to pick him up,” Jihoon stated, pushing his way into the room and ignoring Soonyoung’s outstretched arms. Minghao chuckled and gave the elder a hug. 

 

When Seungcheol spotted Jihoon, he immediately ran over to him with a beer. Jihoon reluctantly took it, wanting to ask if they had anything else to drink, until he spotted Jun pulling another bottle of wine out of his bag. The shorter made his way over and silently asked for some. Jun groaned and unwillingly handed it over. Jihoon stared at the cork in silence, not having anything to open it with. When Jun noticed, he laughed and took the bottle, biting the cork out with his teeth again. 

 

Jihoon gave him a disgusted look. 

 

“Were you guys playing Twister?” Jihoon asked after taking a long chug. He gagged when he noticed it was champagne. 

 

“The kids decided that they were flexible enough to play, but it’s already the third game and Seungcheol had to get out because he pulled some muscle,” Jun explained. 

 

“So this is what I was missing out on? What next? We get in a circle and play spin the bottle?” Jihoon joked. 

 

Seokmin’s head popped out from between Vernon and Mingyu’s arms and he shouted, “Did someone say spin the bottle?” He tried climbing out of the body circle and caused everyone to fall on top of each other. 

 

“Spin the bottle?” Chan asked, walking into the room with a capri-sun. 

 

“If we’re playing spin the bottle, I call Seokmin!” Soonyoung shouted, clinging onto the other’s arm. They all ignored Wonwoo’s comment about how that wasn’t how spin the bottle was played. 

 

Jun lifted his empty wine bottle and claimed they could start already. Jihoon cringed, but followed the group to the center of the living room. He helped Seungcheol put twister away and helped Vernon set up pillows in a circle. By the time they finished, everyone had already taken their seats, leaving only two spaces available. One between Wonwoo and Mingyu and another between Chan and Jeonghan. Vernon took the spot between Chan and Jeonghan which left Jihoon with no other choice. He clenched his fist. There was nothing worse than drunk Wonwoo and Mingyu. He didn’t even know why they chose to sit so close to each other, or join the same team. It was idiotic, but for some reason, they worked well together, and if that meant the relay will continue to win gold then he’d just have to deal with it.

 

"Do you guys really want to play this game? Can't we play something that doesn't involve having to kiss people?" Chan asked, leaning back and taking a capri-sun from Jeonghan.

 

"Chan, stop being so cute.”

 

“Okay, since Chan doesn't want to play this, what should we play?" Seungcheol joked.

 

"Seven minutes in heaven," Soonyoung shouted, standing up and grabbing Seokmin's hand.

 

"Stop! Can't we play like mario kart or something?" Wonwoo groaned.

 

Mingyu laughed, dodging the punch that Wonwoo threw at him. "You just don't want to have to kiss someone, you virgin.” 

 

“Okay Kim. What if you got Chan?” Wonwoo asked, as if he he had gotten the boy cornered. 

 

“I’d kiss him and then he’d thank me,” Mingyu laughed. Jihoon groaned. He hated having to sit between  them. 

 

“I object. Chan is not going to be joining in on any of these promiscuous activities," Jeonghan butted in, reaching for the younger and pulling him to his chest.    
  
"There are literally no other games we could play," Minghao stated. Junhui nodded, blankly, his lips wet with the water he was drinking.    
  
"Parties that have games are for children and we are not children," Seungkwan said. "Sorry, except for Chan." He ignored when Chan brought up that Seungkwan was only a year older than him.   
  
"Two truths and one lie," Jihoon offered. The boys all looked at him, shocked that he was still there. He cowered in on himself. Junhui looked disgusted, or on the verge of puking, and Jeonghan, Joshua and Chan were talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers.    
  
Mingyu was nodding his head along with Wonwoo and Seokmin.    
  
"That is a wonderful idea," Soonyoung announced, standing up and walking over to the other to kiss his head. Eventually everyone else chimed in to agree.

  
"Are we going to use a point system? Whoever gets the most right at the end wins, sound good?" Seungcheol asked. When no one disagreed, he stood up to look for something to write with.    
  
When he came back, the circle had gotten closer to each other, so he had to nudge himself between Junhui and Minghao, much to Junhui's disappointment.    
  
"I still think we should kiss each other," Seokmin grumbled. "How about whoever wins has to kiss the person who loses."    
  
"Is that a punishment or is that for your own sick pleasure?" Vernon questioned. Seokmin didn't answer, a smile still plastered on his face.    
  
When they finally decided that the person to go first would be the person with the fastest time, Mingyu pushed Jihoon to the center. Jihoon complained about how he definitely didn't have the fastest time and he thought having to go to the center was overkill. He claimed they should go by their free time (which would make Jun have to go first). Wonwoo butted in claiming that, sure Junhui was the fastest in the fifty free, but technically Seungkwan was the fasted in the five-hundred. After bickering for five minutes, half of it being spent with Seungkwan screaming that he didn't want to go first, and the other half with Jihoon punching Soonyoung when he brought up that Jihoon should just go first. They eventually stopped when Seungcheol offered to go first, finally stating that they'd go by age.    
  
"Don't give us any of that vanilla shit," Mingyu told him. Seungcheol flipped him off. He hadn’t  thought this ahead. He didn't want to get super personal and he also didn't want to be too 'vanilla' about it.    
  
Before he could start, Jeonghan groaned loudly, a hand over his mouth and his cheeks puffed. Joshua got up quickly, holding his boyfriend still as he helped him up and rushed him to the bathroom.    
  
The swimmers sat there, stunned. Seungcheol was sure that Jeonghan didn't  have that much to drink and his face went pale thinking about what would happen if Jeonghan ended up sick. He stood up, forgetting about the game, and made his way to the bathroom. The door was locked and all Seungcheol could hear was Jeonghan retching and Joshua's soft voice trying to calm him. 

  
He walked back to the living room and was surprised to find that the circle had cleaned up and some of the boys were helping Wonwoo clean. The rest, (Mingyu, Seokmin and Jihoon), were sitting on the couch. They immediately ran up and asked him what was wrong with Jeonghan and if he was going to be alright for the meet on Saturday. Jihoon left his spot, where he was helping Seungkwan fold up the twister and made his way over to the group.    
  
"I knew we shouldn't have had this party two days before the meet," Jihoon stated, crossing his arms and glaring over at where Soonyoung was standing, as if it had been his idea.    
  
"I don't think it's because he's drunk. He only drank like two fireball shots and whatever mixed drink he was holding. I'm pretty sure he'll feel better by Saturday," Seungcheol explained. Jihoon didn't budge, his glare still burning holes in  to Soonyoung's back.    
  
Wonwoo walked over to the group and told them that they could go home, but if they wanted, they could spend the night since his parents were probably going to be out late. He walked off into the hallway, probably to relay the information to Joshua and Jeonghan.

  
  
  


The next morning, when Wonwoo walked out of his room, after having thrown Soonyoung off his bed, ignoring the drunken mumble from the other, he examined the swim team all laid out around the living room. 

 

He checked his parents room and saw that they hadn’t come home again. If it weren’t for the texts he’d been getting from them, he’d probably have called the police. 

 

He tried walking over the bodies carefully when he happened across Mingyu, who was cuddled against Seungkwan and Seokmin, his body enveloping the other two, Wonwoo managed to step on his hand lightly, as to not injure him too much. Mingyu groaned in pain, squirming and waking the two around him. 

 

“What the fuck, Jeon,” Mingyu growled, bolting up and lunging for Wonwoo. The other stepped back just in time, causing Mingyu to tumble to the ground over Chan and Jihoon. 

 

Jihoon instantly woke and was beating Mingyu who kept complaining about how he needed to be in good shape for the swim meet on Saturday. 

 

“Your fault for being in the way, Kim,” Wonwoo shrugged, dragging a helpless Chan and an unwilling Jihoon to the kitchen to help him make breakfast for ten boys with a hangover. 

 

When breakfast was ready and all ten boys had taken turns in the bathroom and were finally seated at the table, Seungcheol brought out his laptop and everyone groaned. Soonyoung threw an ice cube at him and Seokmin followed after throwing his crumpled up napkin at his was. 

 

Seungcheol rolled his eyes and proceeded to ask each swimmer what they hoped to achieve at the next meet. Seungkwan leaned over and whispered in Vernons ear that if he acted like this when Seungcheol graduates, he’d never talk to him again. Vernon nodded in fear of disagreeing with him and losing his trust. 

 

When Seungcheol came around to Mingyu, he just shrugged and just said to put down Wonwoo’s time. 

 

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, “You can beat my time in back, stop being stupid, stupid.” 

 

Mingyu smirked, taking a bite of his sausage and eyeing Seungcheol. Wonwoo saw this and asked what the fuck was going on. The manager bit his lip and Mingyu chuckled lowly. 

 

“They didn’t tell you? I’m swimming fly next meet.” 

 

“I want to punch you so badly, Kim. Why the fuck are you even swimming fly? You don’t even know how,” Wonwoo groaned. 

 

“Coach said I can try different event for fun during this meet and since I did breast last week, I decided fly was the next best option,” Mingyu shrugged as if it made perfect sense. 

 

“Whatever, it’s not like you can break it or anything,” Wonwoo mumbled. 

 

“No one can break it, Wonwoo. You’re a beast,” Chan joked. Everyone around the table nodded along. Wonwoo was awkwardly tall and super thin, his only weight being his muscles. With the fact that he’s been doing fly since he was a child combined with that he can finish a lap in seven strokes made an unbeatable time. Wonwoo broke the original pool record sophomore year and since then he’d been breaking it at almost every meet. It was nice to constantly hear his name being announced. 

 

“That’s what you say. I have two more years to perfect fly and maybe my name will be on the boards,” Mingyu stated. 

 

“Oh yeah? You’re gonna perfect the fly in two years when it takes most people four years? I feel like you underestimate how hard it is,” Soonyoung argued. “It’s not like back. Everyone can do back.” 

 

Seungcheol stood up from his chair, his arms spread out. “We are not going to fight at the breakfast table. We are going to finish our food and then get ready for practice and then continue about our day in school like a normal team, okay?” Everyone nodded. Most of the team hated when Seungcheol acted this way. He was scary and he reminded them too much of their coach. 

 

Since swim was first period and they were only a day away from a meet, the coach always let them come to class later than usual, which was the perfect excuse to throw parties Thursday nights. They just had to be careful about not getting so wasted that they couldn’t swim during practice. The year before, Jun had gotten so drunk he threw up during practice all over the boy's locker room and was forced to swim a five hundred that afternoon as a punishment.    
  
  
When they were ready to leave, Wonwoo called that he didn't want to drive and threw the keys at Soonyoung nonchalantly. Soonyoung stared at his best friend in shock. The only times he ever let Soonyoung drive his car was when he was blackout drunk and when Soonyoung wanted to impress a girl, which ended up failing anyway. 

 

When Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Vernon tried to get into his car, Wonwoo sent them a dirty look and informed them that only Vernon was allowed to come with them. Seokmin and Seungkwan reluctantly got out and tried squeezing into Jeonghan's truck. They ended up having to kick out Jihoon, who rolled his eyes and ran after Wonwoo's red convertible that was already making its way out of the parking lot. 

 

Seungcheol sat in his own car, confused as to why no one wanted to go with him. Mingyu was the only one, and although he loved the guy, he felt a little left out that all the swimmers went to Jeonghan and Wonwoo. When he told Mingyu this, the taller confided that he had wanted to try to go with Wonwoo and Soonyoung, but he saw Seokmin and Seungkwan already walking that way and decided he'd rather not be in a car with those three so early in a morning while nursing a hangover. With this, Seungcheol turned the radio up louder and ignored the glare the other sent him. 

  
  
  


The one class that Soonyoung never really cared about, but never really minded going if he were being honest, was geography. When he had signed up for it instead of World History, he thought all he’d have to do was memorize maps, but he was wrong when the teacher handed him a quiz on the first day of class and he had to explain why he thought trade with China was good for the economy. He failed it miserably, but still refused to get out because he was headstrong. It didn’t help that Lee Jihoon was also in the class. 

 

He didn’t mind Lee Jihoon, in fact, one, Wonwoo,  might even say he had a tiny crush on the other. So when he saw Jihoon in his class for the first time, he took the empty seat beside him, and failed the quiz with dignity. When they later received their papers, Soonyoung’s with an obvious  _ F  _ plastered on the front, Jihoon had noticed and offered to tutor him if he’d like. Soonyoung accepted and later bought him a rose in thanks. 

 

So yeah, Soonyoung was borderline failing geography, but at least Jihoon had offered to tutor him. 

 

The first time Soonyoung asked Jihoon to come over after school so they could do their homework together it ended up being cancelled because Jun had vomited and they were all forced to stay later to practice more for his mistake. 

 

He was determined to ask him today and he was determined that he absolutely wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

 

Jihoon sighed when Soonyoung popped the question after class. “I can’t. My mom won’t let me out the night before a competition. Maybe we can get in some learning during the meet, yeah?” 

  
Soonyoung nodded and watched as Jihoon walked out the door. Technically it wasn’t a no and maybe they could  hang out study sometime next week. 

**Author's Note:**

> follow my twitter @wukrisis_ and my tumblr @johnkneeseo


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